This performance took place on the grounds of the Topkapi Palace at Istanbul's oldest church, the sixth-century Hagia Eirene ("Holy Peace"). Before the concert, musicologist Robert Levin introduces the symphony and the career of its composer, while samples of the music play in the background.

"Levin's central point is that Haydn, from early school days to his time in London, was a jokester, wanting to lead his audience along and then jump in an unexpected direction. 'Don't ever play poker with me!' cries Levin as Haydn…. It is all amusing, interesting, and educational…. Jansons's tempos can be a bit fast (the Adagio cantabile introduction), but he asks for nothing unusual: no swoops, ritards, portamentos, or exaggerations of any kind. The playing is supremely elegant and solid, the Philharmonic at its best. A one-word description might be: genial."—Fanfare